


Superhuman

by Transdodds



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Baseball, Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 21:12:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15894240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Transdodds/pseuds/Transdodds
Summary: Work is pulling Peter down, but sometimes all it takes is a few reminders and a day off to pull you back up





	Superhuman

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChameleonCircuit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChameleonCircuit/gifts).



> For Cherie, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

In high school Sonny hadn’t been exactly what you would call good at sports, gangly and still trying to figure out his long limbs made him clumsy and extremely uncoordinated. That didn’t necessarily mean he didn’t enjoy them, he would still go watch a game with the squad occasionally, but being teased mercilessly by his schools star players and having a habit for always getting picked last on teams had dampened his enthusiasm somewhat. 

So, when Peter held up two tickets for a baseball game, cubs vs mets, grinning like a kid on Christmas, the smile Sonny gave back was purely because of the excited attitude of his boyfriend and not because of any anticipation or joy he himself felt. In fact, when the day rolled around he was dreading it. He was dead on his feet, having not had a day off in what felt like years. The last thing he wanted to do was spend his free day in the heat watching people hit balls and run around with no clue as to what the many statistics flashing up on gigantic screens really meant. 

Not that he said any of that to Peter, of course. However, he seemed to have sensed some of Sonny’s reluctance, from the way his smile was smaller, more forced and how, while Sonny still managed to have an enthusiastic tone, he didn’t ramble on like he often did when he was truly happy about something. Peter also seemed to have made it his mission to change that, taking Sonny out to brunch at his favourite pancake house and excitedly sharing facts about the game as well as anecdotes from his own time. It definitely helped to improve Sonny’s mood so that by the time they were queuing up to enter the stadium Sonny was bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet and swinging his boyfriends hand, filled with restless energy and ready for it to begin. Not because Peter had managed to make him love the sport within an afternoon, but because Sonny could clearly see just how much Peter adored this game, and if his face was going to be lit up with a smile and his blue eyes where going to shine with joy the entire time then Sonny was more than happy to watch that show. It also helped that the energy around them from the crowd was infectious and Sonny could just about catch a glimpse into why Peter loved it so much.

One thing he would never be able to imagine, however, despite the many stories Peter told, was what it must have been like to be in front of that crowd. What it must feel like to have so many people overjoyed to see you, a stadium cheering you on. Peter had described it once as electric, exhilarating, his voice tinged with longing for that time. 

“Do you want anything?” Peter asked, shaking Sonny out of his thoughts and gesturing towards the line of souvenir carts. He grabbed a cubs hat sticking it onto Sonnys head, the man giving a goofy smile. 

“How do I look?”

“Perfect” Peter said, his breath catching slightly as he took in the sight of his boyfriend standing in the sunlight, the sleeves of his Henley pushed up, his hip popped as he struck a pose and Peter swooped in to kiss him. Or at least attempted to, chuckling slightly as the lip of the hat made the angle more than awkward. 

“On second thoughts, let’s get rid of the hat” Peter said, plucking the hat of his boyfriends head and was just about to kiss him when he felt the hat being tugged out of his grip and his boyfriend triumphantly putting it back on backwards and Peter had to chuckle at the frat boy look.

“Perfect. You really are a genius” Peter said, his arm reaching out to tug Sonny close to him and finally achieving his goal of kissing him, and then slowly moving away, their foreheads touching as they just enjoyed each other's presence. 

“Hey! Are you actually going to buy anything?” a gruff voice startled them out of their quiet moment, and they turned sheepishly to see the cart owner glaring out them. Sonny dug into the pockets of his jeans, handing over the money with a slightly bashful grin. As soon as the money had switched hands and the hat was firmly on his head Peter took his hand again, and they entered the stadium. 

Whatever he had been dreading about the game, that it would be long, that it would be hot, that he wouldn’t truly understand it were all true. But so was the fact that Peter was continuously jumping up to grab them cold drinks, or that he would occasionally squeeze Sonny's hand and pull him close while commenting on a players technique, or just the fact that Peter looked more happy than he had in months. Sonny had known work had been weighing Peter down, that he had thrown himself into it after Pam’s death in an attempt to escape the images that haunted him, that kept him up at night until Sonny held him tight, whispering that it would be okay and stroking his hair until he fell into a restless sleep. And that Peter simultaneously hated the fact he was burying himself in work as a distraction, feeling he was becoming too much like good old Saint Ben, that he was isolating himself with work, that he would turn into the one person he had always feared resembling. It also didn’t help that the cases themselves where nightmarish in their own way, pulling Peter down into deeper stress and misery. 

But here, in the stadium, that weight seemed to have been lifted off Peters shoulders as he leapt to his feet after a home run, cheering enthusiastically, his worries temporarily forgotten. Sonny had never seen a better sight before and his heart was warmed so much so that despite his mounting boredom he dreaded the end, dreaded the time that Peter would come crashing down from this euphoria and return to the real world and all his fears. 

Except that that didn’t happen. Peter remained as buoyant as he had been the entire day, rambling on about the game as they walked to a nearby diner. Sonny could see now why Peter would always smile whenever Sonny got caught on a tangent and started babbling on. There was a particularly strong joy in seeing the person you love sharing their passion with you. As if they were taking a piece of their heart and giving it to you to keep close.

That evening Sonny found himself back outside the stadium, Peter saying he wanted to show him something. The atmosphere was different with the crowds gone, the occasional flyer or hot dog wrapper crumpled on the ground giving just a few hints of the huge mass of people that had been there just a few hours ago. But despite the subdued almost isolated nature of the place Peter still looked up at the building with a sense of awe. 

“Hey, Peter, I really wouldn’t trespass in front of a cop” Sonny said watching slightly confused as his boyfriend walked towards the entrance. 

“Good thing we aren’t trespassing then” Peter said waving a set of keys triumphantly above his head “It’s also probably good you didn’t see the slight bribery needed to get these” Peter added with a chuckle. Sonny shook his head, and would have looked disappointed if not for the slight upturn of his lips he couldn’t seem to control and he walked towards Peter taking his free hand as they entered the stadium. 

Sonny knew the city was just outside, but as the door closed behind them and they were left standing on the outskirts of the field, staring at the wide expanse of green and with the sounds of traffic muffled it was like they had stepped into the middle of nowhere. 

“It’s really something isn’t it” Peter said quietly next to him, seeming to have read Sonny’s thoughts. 

“I can see why you love it” Sonny replied his voice just as quiet, something about the place seeming to demand that amount of respect. 

“Oh, you will” and with that Peter ran over to the dugout, returning with a duffel bag and pulling out a ball and a bat, which he pointed in Sonny’s direction. “Told Stan to stash some things here as well” Peter said when Sonny didn’t grab the bat, as if that made it all clearer. 

“Stan?”

“Guy who owns the keys, I got kinda friendly with him back before and so I asked him for a favour. Now, come I want to show you exactly why I love this sport. Cause I know you don’t, it’s nice you pretend, but it’s not your thing, that’s fine. But I just want to give you a glimpse as to why I love this. Please?”

Sonny grabbed the bat, as if he could ever deny Peter anything he asked. As soon as he did Peter sprinted over to the mound and started chanting as he stepped up to the plate. 

“Cari-Si, Cari-Si, Cari-Si, and the crowd goes wild” 

Despite the dread starting to rear its ugly head in the pit of his stomach Sonny still gave a small smile. He wiped his hands on his jeans before gripping the bat and getting into position, giving a small nod at Peter to show he was ready despite the fact he felt anything but.

As Peter released the ball Sonny swung hoping against hope he wouldn’t embarrass himself completely. 

And he missed. 

Peter looked at him eyebrows raised expectantly, obviously waiting for him to run after the ball and throw it back for another turn, but Sonny wasn’t sure he could take a second failure. 

“Don’t tell me you’re giving up”

“Look, I’m just not good at this” Sonny said with a shrug, ignoring the fact that just giving up was exactly what he was doing. 

“You just haven’t had good teachers, that’s all. Do you really think that I was just born good at this, there’s maybe one person every few years who’s born talented, the rest of us just have to work at it. Just one more go, and then I won’t ask you again.” Sonny shook his head slightly, not sure why he was doing this to himself as he jogged after the ball, tossing it back to Peter who was walking towards him. 

“Really, most of the technique is there” Peter commented, standing close behind Sonny, so close Sonny could feel his warm breath on the back of his neck, and just lightly touching one of his arms to lower it. “You just need to loosen up, like firing a gun, the more you’re tense the harder the recoil hits, right? Baseball is the same. You also need to be more confident, you’re swinging a split second too early, just wait a bit, you won’t miss it.”

Sonny tried to heed his advice, but it was exceptionally hard to try and relax at will. But when Peter leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before running back to the mound it became the slightest bit easier.  Sonny kept in mind what Peter had said, relaxing his stance and focusing on his breathing as Peter let the ball go hurtling towards him once more. 

Breathe in. Swing. Crack. Breathe out. 

It took Sonny a second to realise that the deafening sound echoing through the stadium was the ball connecting with his bat, that he’d actually hit the ball. Peter was grinning wide, and outstretched his arms, partly like a cheer, but also as if he was pointing out the rows after rows of empty spectator stands. Looking around Sonny could imagine the exhilaration of doing something incredible like that with thousands of people watching, taking note.

“It’s amazing”

“It makes you feel superhuman, all those people looking at you like you’re almost a god, like you’re their hero. You feel unstoppable, invincible” Peter said, and while there was a smile on his face, the touch of longing was back as well. 

“Hey, you know that that’s how I look at you in court, when you’re up there arguing for the victim, for the underdog. You’re a hero, to me and to them, to their families, you’re superhuman, always will be.”

Peter paused at that, sitting down on the mound and Sonny walked over to join him, going over what he had said to try and work out what had dampened his boyfriends perfect mood. It was only when Peter was leaning his head on Sonny’s chest, held tight in his boyfriend's arms, that he spoke.

“It’s not the same though. Before if I failed, the worst I did was disappoint the fans, now… I can let the worst of humanity back on the streets if I fail. I understand the work we do is important, but day after day… don’t you ever want to just quit?”

“Sometimes I wonder why I haven’t already, but really, what else would I do. You’re a good man, Peter. If you walked away, I know you would be wondering about all the victims you could be helping. You just have to find a way to survive like this, for me it’s spending time with my family, with you, with the squad, for you maybe you just need to get out to a game, be reminded as to just what a superhuman force you are and i’ll be here for as long as you’ll have me just reminding you of that”


End file.
